And speaking of games...

I have never been any good at video games. I remember when Matt was about 8 years old he tried and tried to teach me how to play "Super Mario Brothers" on our first Nintendo. He stood in front of the TV with a pointer and tried to get me in the right places to jump and get something and I'd go too far or not far enough and we both just got frustrated. When John, Scott, and Matt were here last week, they decided we should have a family FIFA soccer tournament on John's Xbox. George and I played first and by some miracle I beat him. My next opponent was Scott. Now I don't even like to think of how many hours Scott has spent perfecting his skill at this game. He picked the worst team of all and I had one of the best, yet his players still ran circles around mine. It was embarrassing! Then John decided to be a helpful son. We both held the control and he told me when to shoot and when to pass. He did all the other complicated stuff. And I, or as I should say, We only lost by one goal

Farkle

Since there has been a question about Farkle (the game I mentioned in my last post), I decided to do a post to explain the rules. Farkle is a 5 dice game of chance. You roll all five dice but you need a 3 of a kind or a one or two ones or a five to keep on rolling. You put the dice you want to keep to the side; pick up remaining dice and roll again. Just like the 1st time, you must get a one, a 5 or 3 of a kind to keep going; otherwise you have 'farkled'. (a farkle is a dice roll without a one, a five or three of a kind.) You may keep rolling as long as you get at least one dice to put aside to score each time. If you've used all 5 dice, you can pick up all 5 dice and start rolling again. If you throw a straight all at the same time (a 1,2,3,4,5) and get 1500 points, you can pick up all dice and continue to roll if you want. When you farkle, no points are added to your score and the person next to you takes control of the dice. You may opt to stop rolling at any time in your turn and have your points added rather than risk a 'farkle'.

To begin a player must get 500 points in one turn to get on the board. If a player farkles before getting 500 points or more, his/her turn is over until the dice go around the circle. After getting on the board, a player can stop at any time and add points to his/her score and pass the dice to the next player to avoid a farkle.

The first person to 10,000 points is usually the winner. However when a person gets to 10,000 points, the dice rotate through all the players one last time to see if they can' run the board' and overtake 10,000 points.

Scoring- Ones = 100 points; Fives = 50 points; three of a kind thrown at the same time = # times 100 (i.e. 3 sixes = 600 points); a 5 dice straight thrown at the same time = 1500 points; three-ones are a special case and they get you 1000 points if rolled at the same time. We usually play to 10,000 points.

Here are a few examples. Let's say this is your first roll:

You're lucky. You got 1000 points for the 3 ones and 50 points for each 5 so you now have 1100 points. You need 500 points so you are on the board and your points count, so you pick up all five dice and roll again:

You get 50 points for each 5 so now you have a total of 1200 points. However you have a decision to make. Are you going to pick up the 3 remaining dice and roll one more time to add to your score but risk a 'farkle' or are you going to take your points and pass the dice. I know that I would stop and take my points because I am a cautious person! I take the 1200 points and pass the dice. Let's say that when the dice come back on your next turn you roll this:

On this roll you have 200 points (one hundred for the 1 and 50 each for the 5's) You put those aside and roll the two sixes.

You're lucky again! You rolled another 5 so you now have 250 points. Again you have to make a decision, are you going to roll the remaining six or are you going to take your 250 points? This time you're feeling lucky and roll the last 6!

Lucky again, you get another 5 so you now have 300 points to add to your total. Decision time again, are you going to take the 300 points and stop or pick up all 5 dice and roll them again?Since you're feeling lucky you roll again!

Oops, the good luck ended and you farkled....you get ZERO/Nada/nothing for this turn. There are no 5's or 1's or three of a kinds. The player next to you gets the dice.

Now the best way to learn would be to invite us over for a private lesson but if that is impossible and my explanations have totally confused you check out this website:

http://www.smartboxdesign.com/farklerules.html

Year of the Rabbit

Last night we celebrated Chinese New Years with some friends. Yes, I know it is a bit late but we still had fun. According to the Chinese Zodiac, in the group were 1 snake, 1 rat, 1 dragon, 2 tigers, 2 dogs, and a rabbit. After some really great Chinese food we played Farkle. I have to point out that the top three scores were from the women! Way to go girls!

To catch a thief!

I caught this little thief helping himself to one of the community bird feeders. The picture isn't great but I was standing in the rain using the zoom on my phone so it is the best I could do without without getting too close.

I don't think he was scared, he was just waiting for me to walk by so that he could eat in peace without the paparazzi!

The DEVIL made me do it!

Last night George and I went to see a play based on the CS Lewis book Screwtape Letters.

Last night at the play and when I read Screwtape Letters, I was struck by how much knowledge CS Lewis had of the reality of Satan and his cunning. I like this quote from the book that was also part of the dialogue in the play.

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

I also like this quote from another of his books That Hideous Strength, a book which I haven't yet read. In fighting those who serve devils one always has this on one's side; their Masters hate them as much as they hate us.

I was reminded of a recent talk by one of the leaders of our church, M. Russell Ballard who compared Satan's tactics to those of a fly fisherman.

Brothers and sisters, the advent of the fall season here in the Rocky Mountains brings with it the glorious colors of leaves transforming from green to blazing oranges, reds, and yellows. During the fall all nature is in a state of transition, preparing for the cold, austere beauty of winter.

Autumn is a particularly exciting time for the fly fishermen, for this is the time trout are driven by an almost insatiable hunger to feast in order to fortify their bodies against the scarcity of winter food.

The goal of the fly fisherman is to catch trout through skillful deception. The adept fisherman studies trout behavior, weather, the water current, and the types of insects trout eat and when those insects hatch. He will often craft by hand the lures he uses. He knows these artificial insects embedded with tiny hooks need to be a perfect deception because the trout will identify even the slightest flaw and reject the fly.

What a thrill it is to watch a trout break the surface of the water, inhale the fly, and resist until it is finally exhausted and reeled in. The test is the pitting of the fisherman’s knowledge and skill against the noble trout.

The use of artificial lures to fool and catch a fish is an example of the way Lucifer often tempts, deceives, and tries to ensnare us.

Like the fly fisherman who knows that trout are driven by hunger, Lucifer knows our “hunger,” or weaknesses, and tempts us with counterfeit lures which, if taken, can cause us to be yanked from the stream of life into his unmerciful influence. And unlike a fly fisherman who catches and releases the fish unharmed back into the water, Lucifer will not voluntarily let go. His goal is to make his victims as miserable as he is.

I'm so grateful to be able to read the words of remarkable men like CS Lewis and Elder Ballard and learn from their wisdom!